Leder, Meg. The Museum of Heartbreak. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse 2016 269p $17.99
ISBN 978-1-4814-3210-8 hs Realistic fiction VG
Growing up is all about trying new relationships,
friendships and experiences to find how what works best for us, which bonds are
worth enduring and which traits in others should be treasured and which should
be ignored. Penelope has two best friends,
Ephraim and Autumn. The trio is
inseparable, or at least, they have been inseparable until now. On the first day of junior year, Penelope
meets Keats, a rich boy with good looks and a seemingly cool personality. Penelope can’t help but react to his
charm. However, Keats seems to have the
eye of Pen’s nemesis, Cherisse, as does Audrey, who it appears will soon replace
Penelope with Cherisse as her new best friend.
As the rising action develops, one gets to know Pen better. She writes (having already begun a story
entitled “Welcome to the Museum of Heartbreak”), she falls hard for bad boys,
and she doesn’t like change. She is
creative, a bit whiny at times, and introspective. In other words, readers will find something to
relate to as they read about Pen. In
addition, she is passionate about literature, which leads her to Nevermore, a
small literary group at school that publishes student writing. Penelope watches as her friendship with
Audrey goes downhill, but she is not long for suffering, for she realizes that
she must find someone new to fill the spot.
Grace, a member of the writing group, is the perfect choice. There are all sorts of mini sub-plots swirling
around the main plot, adding interesting sidebars to Penelope’s
circumstances. Nevertheless, it is
Penelope’s growth as a human being in her varied relationships with others that
provides the main plot and the theme of the novel. Who will she recognize as her equal? Who really loves her? What is the value of a long-term
friendship? Teen readers will enjoy
figuring out what is best for Pen at the same time she figures it out. The development of a Museum of Heartbreak has
its usefulness when Penelope’s writing meets real life, as literature often
does. Leder reveals several shining
moments as an author, especially in lines like this one on page 97: “The sky
grumbled ominously behind me, irritable with rain.” Teen readers will enjoy her style, her descriptions
and her knowledge of the mind of a teen girl.
Summary: Penelope is experiencing growing pains. This happens to all high schoolers who face
growing up and examining their friendships and other relationships, the good
ones as well as the toxic ones. Penelope
learns that heartbreak happens, but it helps one grow up.
Friendship-Fiction, Coming of age-Fiction --Martha Squaresky
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